The Original Eleanor

When most people think about “Eleanor” in terms of cars, they think of the 1967 Shelby GT500 made famous by Nicolas Cage in the 2000 version of “Gone in 60 Seconds.” The original, trademarked Eleanor is the 1973 Ford Mustang Mach 1 from the 1974 version of the movie.

While the ’67 Shelby is a spectacular piece of machinery featuring the style and muscle that resonated sheer speed, the ’73 Mach 1 has always been a symbol of the last days of the shift from “big and brawny” to gas economical that started hitting American streets more prevalently in the mid 70s. It was part of the last stand of pure “AAA” (American Automotive Adrenalin), an era where the environment and our wallets were still far from mind.

That’s not to say that there’s anything wrong with the fiscal- and eco-responsible cars that started hitting the roads when muscle started dying. Still, it’s nice to reminisce. Here are some pics of the mean machine. Scroll all the way down if you want to really kill some time and watch the original movie itself.